Sunset Valley don't turn off the lights

She had left the glacier the day before after eating a decent meal. It was good to have purpose, and she knew hers now: she was to recruit new members for the pack she had pledged her loyalty to. Thoughts of Rosings only occasionally slipped into her mind, and Cyclone was quick to push them out. She did not need them; she had her new life, and it was going quite well. Y'know, the whole four or five days into it.

When Neasa spotted a wolf up ahead, she immediately made a beeline toward them. Her posture was confident, but not assertive. No need to be overwhelming if she was trying to find others to join them. You there! she called out, and considering there was nobody else around that she could see, there was only one wolf she could be talking to.

distantly, saarthal wondered if she was going to die. well, of course she was going to die - that was  the deal, wasn't it? you get to live a somewhat mediocre life on this somewhat mediocre planet for a number of mediocre years and then you die. pretty sweet deal, really. but that wasn't what saarthal was thinking about. rather, it was the fact that it was winter and she was back here, in a place she recognised only dimly - or she tried to convince herself, anyway - and was utterly alone. 

but before saarthal had time to entertain those thoughts, a sharp voice rang through the air. saarth started considerably and nearly tripped over some root in the ground (likely an imaginary one - saarthal could trip over air if she wanted to). "shit-" she swallowed a further string of expletives, not wishing particularly to look bad in front the first wolf she'd met in days. instead, saarth turned around, checked out the girl and allowed a lopsided grin to grace her mouth, "sorry - you scared me."

Well, it wasn't the most graceful of introductions... but it would have to do. Cyclone had really been hoping it was a dude (y'know, for procreation purposes), but if she could do anything to please her leader, she would. The Blackthorn girl took in a deep breath, and—ignoring the apology—began her spiel that would hopefully lead to a recruit. You looking for a pack? she asked, once she was within conversational range. The other didn't smell strongly of other wolves, which led Neasa to believe she was a loner.

The best course of action would be to size her up (check), ask her if she was looking for a pack (check), then lead her back to... IkKanattuk, that was it! The pronunciation was still a bit tricky for Cyclone, but she'd been saying it to herself over and over since she had joined. To be perfectly honest, she did not even know what their ranks meant, but through body language, she knew where she stood among the rest of them. Hopefully, that stance would only be better as time went on.

sterling ears swivelled as she processed the words. ah, of course. saarthal had really been hoping for, well, something else, but really by now she should know better than to expect anything to go her way. the yearling licked her lips and quietly weighed her options. "depends on who's asking," saarth grinned and rolled her shoulders, "and what's on offer."

in all honesty, she wasn't particularly keen on joining a pack right now even though she knew that not joining one was a pretty reckless move, especially since winter - the real, hard-hitting winter - was coming soon and she was pretty much dead meat if she didn't get a move on. but- ugh, stop messing with my head, i'm sorry for running away and ditching you okay! - she kinda wanted to find someone. so, unless, this girl had something better to offer, i.e. a hookup...

Name's Neasa, she replied, once again choosing to introduce herself with her given name, rather than the nickname given to her by family as a child (even though it was likely more fitting). The second question was less impressive, considering every wolf knew (or should have known) what the offer was. Camaraderie, a marginally safer place to rest your head. Y'know, the usual. Cyclone didn't give two toots if this wolf rejected her, but she didn't want to waste her time trying to convince somebody who did not want to be convinced.

You got any skills to offer? she asked anyway. Might as well get the ball rolling since the conversation was already happening. A few minutes chatting surely wouldn't set her back too much. Besides, maybe in doing so she would at least put a pin in the other girl's mind as to where she was from so that she'd know where to go if she did seek the comfort of a pack.

well - straight to the point, huh. saarth swallwed back a grimace. "the usual. i can fight, hunt, scout, name a dozen constellations," she shrugged, "and i know some stuff about healing." admittedly, there was a lot saarthal could've said to improve her case but there was something about the girl that rubbed her the wrong way - though she couldn't have pinpointed it if you'd asked - and anyway, she wasn't that interested. whether it was joining a pack or surviving in general, saarthal's current general viewpoint was if she was going to die alone in winter, buried by a pile of snow, then she was going to die alone in winter, buried by a pile of snow. there was no changing fate.

She listed off a few things, none of which were particularly interesting, although she figured they would be useful to IkKanattuk in some way or another. Then again, this girl didn't seem like she was biting at the bit to join them. Neasa wondered if that would be an obstacle. If she sent her there, and she wasn't gung-ho about joining, would that matter? It wasn't like Cyclone had been particularly into the pack for any reason other than it was small and looked like it needed help. Was that even a good reason to join up with a place? Good enough, she supposed.

I have a feeling Takiyok would take you in if that's something you're looking for. We live over yonder, she said, gesturing in the direction of the glacier, in a pack called IkKanattuk. It's nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. If you end up over that way, you can tell Takiyok I sent ya. Gotta score those brownie points!

saarthal cast a quick glance to the direction the stranger was pointing at, and only grimaced ever so slightly at the complicated sounding name of the pack - perhaps, it only sounded fancy because it was in a language she didn't understand. either ways, she doubted she was one to judge given her fancy family history and her parent/grandparent/general ancestors' tendency to name packs in a fancy old language, making it sound better than it should be. although, to be fair, saarthal did prefer latin over the common tongue. on occasions. "got it," saarthal cocked her head, lips quirking lightly, "neasa, right?"

That's it! she replied. Maybe she should have asked for a name in return, but Cyclone didn't think it was necessary. It was entirely possible this wolf would not even go to the glacier to check it out. Neasa thought it much more likely that the loner would get herself wrapped up in something else before she even made it there. Still, it was worth a shot, especially if it meant she did end up joining them. That would put Cyclone on Takiyok's good side.

I'm off to track down some more recruits, hope to see you around! And with that, Cyclone toddled off to her next conquest.

saarthal nodded quietly and watched as the other wolf said goodbye and walked off. would it be rude to say she'd forgotten the stranger's name already? probably. she kept that thought to herself, then buried it in the deep recesses of her mind and shook her head, teeth digging into her bottom lip. with one last glance in the distance, the girl braced her shoulders and soldiered off into the wilderness.